814 years of living history at Framingham care center

Sister Janina Mangion drew cheers as she swayed on the dance floor Wednesday, boogieing happily in spite of the fact today is her 106th birthday. "I'm not the dancer I was," she quipped while making her way back to the table of honor during a celebration for the centenarians at Bethany Health Care Center.

Sister Janina Mangion drew cheers as she swayed on the dance floor Wednesday, boogieing happily in spite of the fact today is her 106th birthday.

"I'm not the dancer I was," she quipped while making her way back to the table of honor during a celebration for the centenarians at Bethany Health Care Center.

A roomful of guests at the afternoon party marveled not only at Mangion's ripe age, but the fact she and seven other residents of the longterm care facility will be at least 100 this year.

"Quite amazing," Sister Jacqueline McCarthy, the facility's CEO, told the crowd, adding, "We thought this has to be a big celebration."

Seven of the party's honorees are nuns, while the eighth, Sally Cotter, is not. Her grandfather donated the land for the Bethany Road nursing home.

Other residents - some of whom are nuns and some aren't - helped celebrate the milestone birthdays, enjoying cake and punch and clapping and singing along to keyboard music.

Staff from state Sen. Karen Spika and Rep. Chris Walsh's offices presented the birthday ladies with citations from the House and Senate.

"It was a big surprise," said Sister Maria Grande, who turns 100 on Sept. 26.

She recalled entering the convent at age 19, the same day as fellow honoree Greta Turner, who turns 102 on Nov. 15.

Grande said three of her brothers became priests. She proudly recalled being raised "a Bostonian," then teaching at Catholic schools in Norwood, Somerville and Dorchester, where she loved to share her passion for art with the students.

As far as living so long, "I just went on living as I always did and I've had a very happy life," she said.

Mangion, the oldest of the group, had no secrets to share as she turns 106.

"From here on in, it's only one day at a time," she said.

Born in Haverhill, one of 11 children, Mangion reflected on her life and upbringing.

"It was hard," she said. "We lived through the Depression, but things are a little better now."

Mangion didn't go to Catholic school, and said she joined the convent in 1929, at age 23, on a whim, inspired by the nuns she saw.

"I used to see them going to church and I just made up my mind, 'I'm going to be one of those.' I didn't know what I was getting into," she recalled.

But she says she has no regrets about her decision, which led her to teach first-graders.

"I miss it," she said. "They were my love. They were my life, really." Of her hobbies, she said, "I used to love to dance."

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Sister Stephanos Badessa, who turned 101 in January, is amazed by her own longevity.

"I never thought I'd live that long," she said, although she said one of her sisters lived to 102. "So, God was good to us."

Sally Cotter's daughter, Evelyn Cotter, was proud to see her mother, who turns 102 on Nov. 27, and the other centenarians recognized.

"I don't know what comes first - the good genes or the good care," she said.

The Hopkinton resident works in Bethany's activities department so she can be close to her mother, who has dementia. She had nothing but praise for the place.

The facility's history starts in 1916, when Sally Cotter's grandfather, Thomas B. Fitzpatrick, and his wife Sara deeded their estate to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston. The facility was developed as the first home for retiring Sisters of St. Joseph and now serves the Sisters of St. Joseph and other religious communities, as well as non-nuns from MetroWest and Metropolitan Boston.

Fitzpatrick "would be so happy to know what the Sisters of St. Joseph have done with it," Evelyn Cotter said.

Before the centenarians and guests danced to the polka and classic songs, McCarthy wished the honorees well.

"May God grant you many more years," she said, "and many more healthy years."

(Danielle Ameden can be reached at 508-626-4416 or dameden@wickedlocal.com. Follow her on Twitter @DanielleAmeden.)